Ferndale guitarist Bobby Murray catches up with pal Robert Cray in Royal Oak WITH VIDEO

Blues guitarist Bobby Murray and his band open for Robert Cray on Sunday at the Royal Oak Music Theatre. (Joe Ballor/Daily Tribune)

High school graduation can provide memories for a lifetime.

For Ferndale blues guitarist Bobby Murray, it was a day that changed his life.

"It was June 9, 1971," Murray said. "I remember the date, because it was my birthday and (blues great) Albert Collins performed at our high school graduation. I turned 18, saw Albert Collins and graduated from high school. It just blew me away."

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Also watching Collins at the ceremony at Lakes High School in Lakewood, Wash., was Murray's classmate, singer-guitarist Robert Cray.

"I was sitting right next to Robert and our jaws just dropped," Murray recalled. "I knew right then and there that was what I wanted to do. It changed Robert, too. It was great because we were both able to continue a relationship with Albert until he passed away," in 1993.

At the time, Murray, who opens for the Robert Cray Band at Royal Oak Music Theatre on Sunday, Dec. 2, was in a blues-rock band with Cray called Steakface.

"We were best pals and hung out every day after school," Murray said. "We had band practice five days a week. Robert had Hendrix, Beck, Clapton and those guys down pat by the time he was 15 or so. He was really a prodigy. But you could almost sort of tell there was a part of him that he was still searching for. ...

"Then, when he got the blues, you could see that it all just made sense. When he really got involved in the blues, the deep gospel-soul blues stuff, that was really his voice. ... Seeing Albert Collins crystallized everything."

After Steakface, Murray and Cray each played in other bands for a year or so before joining forces again in the blues/soul band Robert Cray and the Crayolas, which also included current Robert Cray Band member Richard Cousins on bass. The band enjoyed regional success, but Murray went to Los Angeles to pursue his own career.

"The position I play is kind of like a quarterback, and there was already a Hall of Famer (Cray) right here in the making. ... He always encouraged me, and God knows I learned my share of licks from him. He really opened me up to some things about playing. "

Murray worked with blues artists including Frankie Lee, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Percy Mayfield, Pee Wee Crayton, Otis Rush and Lowell Fulson. He joined Collins' band and, in 1988, was invited into Etta James' backup group, the Roots Band. He performed with the legendary singer until her death earlier this year.

Murray played on two of James' Grammy-winning records and on B.B. King's Grammy award-winning album "Blues Summit," where he again teamed up with Cray on the track "Playing With My Friends."

He's appeared on "The Tonight Show" and "Late Night with David Letterman," and also performed live at the 1992 Summer Olympics and President Bill Clinton's inaugural celebration. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Detroit Blues Society in 2011.

Murray has recorded three solo albums and has another release planned in early 2013. At Sunday's concert, he will release the album's first single, "Finders Keepers."

Cray, meanwhile, became a top recording artist, with five Grammy awards. In 2011, Cray was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame.

"I felt years before that that he was going to be a star," Murray said. "He was just that talented and that gifted. The whole package was there."

Murray and Cray still see each other occasionally.

"Not as often as I did when I toured with Etta, because we would bump into each other on the road a bit," Murray said. "But, we've remained friends and keep in contact."

He's not sure if he will be invited to jam with Cray on Sunday.

"I know we will be hanging out ... that's for sure. I'll get a chance to see him and get caught up a little bit. It will be a big treat."